Phantom

Phantom is a boss that appears in Devil May Cry and Devil May Cry 2. He is first encountered in Devil May Cry during Mission 3: Destroyer of Ardor and in Devil May Cry 2 during Dante's Mission 14 and Dante's Mission 18.

Description
Phantom is a colossal arachnid, as gargantuan as an elephant and covered in a shell harder than rock. Its blood, when shed, is made of scorching lava reminiscent of the flaming rivers of Hell and this monster often leaves a trail of fire as it walks.

Phantom combines traits of multiple arachnids, with an overall form resembling a spider, but a long tail with a stinger coiled up on top of his abdomen and massive club-like forelimbs which he uses to strike at his foes. His magical powers are fire-based and mostly related to controlling fireballs or magma. Despite having a male voice, he also appears to be capable of reproducing in some way, as Dante occasionally encounters swarms of harmless infant "Phantom babies" that are easily crushed underfoot.

Phantom is described as a "general" among Mundus' forces, though the precise nature of this rank is unclear, as he only ever acts alone. In terms of personality he is the quintessential bully, eager to intimidate his foes and quickly frustrated if he is not taken seriously.

File

 * Devil May Cry enemy file


 * This is one of the servants of the Dark Emperor. Inside its exoskeleton body is hot molten lava. Not only is the shell hard, it also protects it from magical attacks as well. (Encounter Phantom)


 * It releases its magical powers with its mouth. This opening is the monster's weak spot. (Unlocks the first time Phantom opens his mouth)


 * Coiled on its back is a deadly tail that will thrust its stinger with amazing speed. Keep your distance to avoid being stabbed. (Have Phantom perform this attack)


 * It can summon the dead by plunging its head into the ground. The dead will awaken in the shape of fire pillars which strike from the places where the ground lights up. Run and jump to avoid this attack. (Have Phantom perform this attack)


 * It can charge its powers and unleash fires of evil from its mouth. Rolling seems to work well in avoiding this attack. (Have Phantom perform this attack)


 * When its anger is at its peak, it'll shoot fireballs from its back like a volcanic eruption. Concentrate and dodge this attack. (Have Phantom perform this attack. Mission 08 only)


 * The body's topside is also vulnerable. If you want to prove yourself as a true Devil Hunter, close in on the enemy and attack him from above. (Jump onto Phantom's back and shoot or melee his abdomen)

Devil May Cry
In his introduction, Phantom corners Dante against the altar of the defiled cathedral after Dante acquires the Pride of the Lion. Thinking him to be an ordinary human, Phantom expresses disappointment that he is "another small one," complaining that he sensed "something a little bigger."

Dante, recognizing the creature's nature, responds by taunting Phantom, and as the demon lashes out at him in fury, Dante takes the opportunity to jump clear of the altar, engaging the behemoth with the newfound power of Alastor. This proves too much for Phantom, and he eventually retreats.

However, Phantom proves persistent, several times chasing the Devil Hunter through corridors or lying in wait for him. He finally confronts Dante on the castle's roof, claiming that this time he won't hold back. Once again, he is frustrated by Dante's refusal to take him seriously, the Devil Hunter simply complaining that he was getting tired of Phantom's "childish games."

After a fierce battle, Phantom crashes through the glass roof-panel of the castle's entry hall, impaling himself on the spear held high by the statue of a knight at the base of the stairway. Looking up at Dante, the dying Phantom sees Sparda's image, reacting in disbelief that the Legendary Dark Knight could still be alive. Dante corrects Phantom, saying he is not Sparda, but his son. Phantom says no more, crumbling to ash.

When Dante later faces the demon-machine Nightmare in the defiled cathedral, Nightmare proves able to draw the Devil Hunter into its liquid form: were Dante to fall prey to this, he would be forced into an evil dimension where he would once again have to do battle with Phantom.

Devil May Cry 2
Phantom makes a brief appearance when emerges from a portal in the sky once the island has been brought closer to the Demon World. No explanation for this fight or his apparent return from the dead is given, though the Guidepost indicates that the portal may be a "door to the past". He has no dialogue either before, during, or after the fight. When defeated, he shatters into glass-like shards and reappears as part of Argosax the Chaos.

Devil May Cry: The Animated Series
Phantom makes a cameo appearance in the opening animation for the Devil May Cry anime. There are actually two Phantoms in the sequence, but Phantom himself is never encountered during the story. Oddly the opening has him bleeding actual blood and not lava, which could be a reference to his inital development as a Resident Evil 4 creature.

Devil May Cry Volume 2
Phantom appears in Devil May Cry Volume 2. In a human form, he is described as "a squat bull of a man whose stance betrayed a fire that blazed stronger than the others". He also assumes his traditional demon form while fighting alongside Dante during the rebellion against Mundus.

Devil May Cry comic
In the Dreamwave comics version of Devil May Cry, it is revealed that Phantom tried to eat Dante as "only a demon of the highest order can initiate the evolution," implying that he devours other demons in order to grow stronger.

Devil May Cry 5 – Visions of V –
In Chapter 0, Phantom makes an appearance as one of the creatures V would contract as his familiar. Griffon warns V, telling him that some demons (such as Phantom) won't submit so easily, and that they must be tamed by force. Griffon then asks V to run away from the fight with Phantom.

Bayonetta
In the game Bayonetta, directed by Hideki Kamiya, the creator of the original Devil May Cry, Bayonetta can summon a demon known as Phantasmaraneae that greatly resembles Phantom. This was intentional, as Kamiya claims that he sees Phantom as an offspring of Phantasmaraneae.

Devil May Cry
Phantom uses a variety of attacks during his boss fights. He has the ability to release fire balls from his mouth, call pillars of lava from the ground below the player's feet (referred to as "calling dead souls" within the game) and is able to leap great distances. He attempts to land on Dante and crush him with his great weight. Phantom also is able to unwind a long, scorpion-like tail from his back, which he can use to strike or swipe at the player. When the tail is not being used, it is curled up in the appearance of an abdomen. Being composed mainly of stone and volcanic rock, Phantom's only two weak points are his face and his back. When damaged enough, Phantom can shoot lava from his back much like a volcano. Any other attacks bounce off of his impenetrable skin, leaving the player open to attack. Using properly timed hits and dodges, one can quickly refill the Devil Trigger gauge by repeatedly hitting the hard shell and dodging away from attacks.

The easiest way to defeat Phantom is with Alastor's Air Raid ability. Flying high will keep you above most of his attacks while dealing high damage to him.

If you do not have Air Raid, he is much harder. His legs and rear are invulnerable to attack, but both his face and his back (that is, his topside) are vulnerable. Jumping and using High Time will often secure a clean hit, and should you land atop him -- possible when his tail is unfurled -- you can use sword combos for further damage. Indeed, standing atop Phantom will help one avoid most of the Phantom's attacks until he moves and inadvertently throws you off. Attacking Phantom's face is more difficult, as his front legs will often block your swings, but whenever you are close he will swing his arms to swat you away, making him somewhat more predictable. Another strategy involves timing one's hits perfectly to reflect the main magma ball strike back to the Phantom. The latter is very difficult, however, and should be used with caution. Another effective, albeit reckless method is to activate Alastor's Devil Trigger and slash at his face until it wears off, then keep attacking until it recharges and repeat the process.

Above all, focus on dodging his attacks and getting in attacks when he pauses. Always watch to see if he is sinking his head into the floor or charging up a fireball. It takes a long time to defeat him this way, but it is the safest method.

Phantom chases Dante down corridors during two instances, once during the mission directly after his first fight, and once in the canals. The player can run from him to the nearest door, making him disappear, or, if Air Raid is in the player's possession, Phantom can easily be slain in order to get a large amount of red orbs, making this a possibility of farming them.

Phantom can also be fought repeatedly in the fountain room during the interlude between the end of Mission 07: Holding the Key of Ardor and the start of Mission 08: The Legendary Knight Returns as an optional boss on Hard and Dante Must Die mode. Simply exiting and re-entering the room will cause Phantom to respawn. Because no mission has actually started yet at this point, time, item use and damage are not counted against the player in their final results for Mission 08.

The final battle with Phantom occurs in Mission 08: The Legendary Knight Returns. In this mission Dante faces Phantom on the castle's roof. The fight is largely the same as in the defiled cathedral, though with more room to work with, but Phantom has one new trick: he is able to fire gigantic meteors into the sky from his abdomen, which crash back to Earth after a short time and deal major damage. There is also a unique gimmick to this fight: if the player can lure Phantom into jumping on top of the glass panel in the middle of the area five times, the panel will break, instantly ending the battle.

Devil May Cry 2
Phantom's tactics are essentially the same as from Devil May Cry. The difference here is you don't have the same weapons with which to fight him. Aim for his face or back, and dodge his attacks. Be particularly careful of his "Calling Dead Souls" attack, as it can reach anywhere in the battlefield.

Trivia

 * Because of his rather frequent appearances in Devil May Cry and a reappearance in the second, he holds the distinction of being the most frequently fought boss in the series, with a total of nine possible encounters, plus several more with his offspring. In Devil May Cry there are two mandatory battles, two corridor encounters, one optional battle and he can be encountered inside Nightmare, for a total of six. In Devil May Cry 2 he is fought by both Lucia and Dante, and his head is also part of Argosax the Chaos. Only Vergil compares, with nine if battles with Nelo Angelo are counted (three plus one inside Nightmare) or five if they are not.
 * Phantom was one of the creatures that was supposed to appear in Resident Evil 4. When the game eventually turned into Devil May Cry, Phantom was kept but his design was changed to accommodate to the new story; instead of having blood flowing around his body, lava was used.